Hummer/Tahoe owners - idiocracy (is this just us?)

[zenkidori]

Many sure .... but to not know that big market sellers such as the Hummer and Tahoe is sorta naive or ignorant I'd say

how so? up untill he asked the question, what would ever compel him to care even a little bit?

 

[Peter3hg]

The laws in Bulgaria are the same. You can only drive a car that weights less than 3500kg otherwise you need a license to drive a truck. Which is fair, considering that the Tahoe is called in the states a full-size truck(as the Dakota etc.) or am I wrong?

3.5 tonnes as well in the UK but if you passed before about 1997 you're ok upto about 5 tonnes.

 

[hajj]

The laws in Bulgaria are the same. You can only drive a car that weights less than 3500kg otherwise you need a license to drive a truck. Which is fair, considering that the Tahoe is called in the states a full-size truck(as the Dakota etc.) or am I wrong?

3.5 tonnes as well in the UK but if you passed before about 1997 you're ok upto about 5 tonnes.

In Germany there was such a cut too. Don't know in which year though. I wouldn't be allowed to drive a car which has maximum weight over 3500kg. You only have to drive 80kph if you register such a car as truck, which means less taxes. Many people and companies over here register Vans (MB Sprinter's) as cars, therefore they can drive as quick as they want to.

 

[ryosuke]

up to 1999 you could drive vehicles with up to 7.5t maximum weight with a regular class 3 license in germany, but since then the new european union licenses were introduced that only allow you to drive vehicles with up to 3.5t maximum weight with a regular class B license.

i'm not sure how the laws in norway were before, but if you have done your license before '99 you can still drive up to 7.5t in germany.

 

[Blind_Io]

So I can drive one of these on a normal permit?

M35 "Deuce and a Half" truck. 2.5 tons.

 

[thedguy]

I'm suprised Scandinavian countries are so harsh on 4x4's, I'd think you guys would actually have a legitimate use for something with the ability to get thru high snow and bad weather in general.

The US gives tax breaks to owners of vehicles with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating, which includes when it's fully loaded to max capacity) of 6000lbs (3 tons) or more. I believe you can get upto a $100k break for each vehicle. I can't recall exactly.

The tax break is due to the way our vehicle laws are written, which was back in the dark ages apparently. You own a commercial vehicle if you have a GVWR of 3 tons or more, according to the IRS anyway.

Also the vehicle no longer has to meet EPA fuel economy guide lines and is excluded from the CAFE standard. CAFE is the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, which is a sum of the fuel economy of all vehicles.

There's also weaker emissions laws on the vehicles as well.

The irony of these big ass Hummers and Ford Expeditions is, many of them are to heavy for the roads where they are most popular. Beverly Hills has almost no road that you can legally drive these on, but people do anyway, and cops don't care.

As far as licensing goes, they base what license you need on what you want to "haul" and how many axles and/or trailers. My dad drives 10 wheel dump truck which has 3 axles, thats a "Class B" license, which also applies to things like busses. A "Class A" license is for hauling a trailer behind a 3 (or more) axled vehicle. Then there are extra's for carrying hazardous materials, or explosives etc...

Vehicles are only allowed to haul so much weight with a certain number of axles (includes trailer axles). If you only have a Class B you can't haul with a trailer, and your vehicle can't have more than a total of 19 or 20 ton on those axles.

 

[Beni]

So I can drive one of these on a normal permit?

M35 "Deuce and a Half" truck. 2.5 tons.

It's not based on their real weight, but on their maximal allowed total weight.
Number of axles might also be an issue in Germany, for example.

 

[Blind_Io]

Then I'll drive it in France.

"Topping today's headlines, France has surrendered to single American driving what is described as a 2.5 ton SUV."

 

[Buba]

up to 1999 ...

I passed in 2000... I would have to take another test just to drive a small trailer thats more than 750kg... So stupid, IMO...

When I had drivers ed, I recall asking the instructor "What about the H1, that could be heavier than allowed with the normal license...??"

 

[haz]

Many sure .... but to not know that big market sellers such as the Hummer and Tahoe is sorta naive or ignorant I'd say

how so? up untill he asked the question, what would ever compel him to care even a little bit?

ehheehhee ..... that's an even stupider question ..... like I said, to not ever consider a best seller car not being sold outside "The Grand Empire of the United States of America" is naive. You do know they have Mc. Donalds and Pepsi outside your "world" too, yes??!

haz

 

[un-dee]

So I can drive one of these on a normal permit?

M35 "Deuce and a Half" truck. 2.5 tons.

2,5t is not the weight of it but how much payload it is able to carry. Its the same with all military vehicles. For example the MB Wolf (Merc G-Class) in the German Bundeswehr has the name LKW 0,5to gl and you can be sure it weighs more than 0,5tons ^^

 

[BlaRo]

Then I'll drive it in France.

"Topping today's headlines, France has surrendered to single American driving what is described as a 2.5 ton SUV."

Hmmm...last time I went to Paris I saw a yellow H2 on the Champs Elysees. It looked huge, even from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Like I've said before: when you gotta bling, you gotta bling.

 

[sandor_]

I'm suprised Scandinavian countries are so harsh on 4x4's, I'd think you guys would actually have a legitimate use for something with the ability to get thru high snow and bad weather in general.

The US gives tax breaks to owners of vehicles with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating, which includes when it's fully loaded to max capacity) of 6000lbs (3 tons) or more. I believe you can get upto a $100k break for each vehicle. I can't recall exactly.

The tax break is due to the way our vehicle laws are written, which was back in the dark ages apparently. You own a commercial vehicle if you have a GVWR of 3 tons or more, according to the IRS anyway.

Also the vehicle no longer has to meet EPA fuel economy guide lines and is excluded from the CAFE standard. CAFE is the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, which is a sum of the fuel economy of all vehicles.

There's also weaker emissions laws on the vehicles as well.

The irony of these big ass Hummers and Ford Expeditions is, many of them are to heavy for the roads where they are most popular. Beverly Hills has almost no road that you can legally drive these on, but people do anyway, and cops don't care.

As far as licensing goes, they base what license you need on what you want to "haul" and how many axles and/or trailers. My dad drives 10 wheel dump truck which has 3 axles, thats a "Class B" license, which also applies to things like busses. A "Class A" license is for hauling a trailer behind a 3 (or more) axled vehicle. Then there are extra's for carrying hazardous materials, or explosives etc...

Vehicles are only allowed to haul so much weight with a certain number of axles (includes trailer axles). If you only have a Class B you can't haul with a trailer, and your vehicle can't have more than a total of 19 or 20 ton on those axles.

the tax cuts on the big trucks are recent legislation, and supposedly only for businesses,

 

[gtrietsc]

Many sure .... but to not know that big market sellers such as the Hummer and Tahoe is sorta naive or ignorant I'd say

how so? up untill he asked the question, what would ever compel him to care even a little bit?

ehheehhee ..... that's an even stupider question ..... like I said, to not ever consider a best seller car not being sold outside "The Grand Empire of the United States of America" is naive. You do know they have Mc. Donalds and Pepsi outside your "world" too, yes??!

haz

I'm still not clear why we should give a crap about a vehicle that is designed for and sold in America not being road legal in Norway. What's your point? Maybe I could go the other way, and say that in the Formerly Important Empire of Norway the driving restriction for this type of vehicle is too harsh?

 

[jayjaya29]

A new Tahoe pulled up to me when coming home from work, I though I was going to be crushed and I'm in a mid-sized sedan. These things are f*cking huge!

Just another reason why I hate SUVs soo much. They can be so dangerous becuase they are so large, its scary.

 

[jetsetter]

A new Tahoe pulled up to me when coming home from work, I though I was going to be crushed and I'm in a mid-sized sedan. These things are f*cking huge!

Just another reason why I hate SUVs soo much. They can be so dangerous becuase they are so large, its scary.

Buck up man. They are not that big. Being big is one of the appeals. Remeber that soccer moms and the like had to drive shitty wagons and vans for 50 years.

 

[Blind_Io]

Actually, as Fifth Gear demonstrated, SUVs don't always fare better in a crash. Many standard cars protect their occupants better than big SUVs. I know my little Civic has a better side impact rating than many SUVs on the market.

 

[haz]

Many sure .... but to not know that big market sellers such as the Hummer and Tahoe is sorta naive or ignorant I'd say

how so? up untill he asked the question, what would ever compel him to care even a little bit?

ehheehhee ..... that's an even stupider question ..... like I said, to not ever consider a best seller car not being sold outside "The Grand Empire of the United States of America" is naive. You do know they have Mc. Donalds and Pepsi outside your "world" too, yes??!

haz

I'm still not clear why we should give a crap about a vehicle that is designed for and sold in America not being road legal in Norway. What's your point? Maybe I could go the other way, and say that in the Formerly Important Empire of Norway the driving restriction for this type of vehicle is too harsh?

OMG, you must be kiddn, did you even read my initial POST????

1--> It's legal in Norway! That is not my point, read my 1st post, you'll get it right .........
2--> The Hummer H2 etc. is NOT designed solely for the America ... c'mon you're not that stupid .........
3--> "Formerly Important Empire of Norway" ??????? ROFL .... :lol:

haz

 

[gtrietsc]

1) Its legal in Norway, or SOLD in Norway? Point is, I doubt that GM sells the H2 through its dealer network in Norway, but I could be wrong, I dont live there. Regardless, 99.99999% of them are sold in the US for US roads. Why should it be engineered to YOUR standard when barely any of them will see your roads?

2) O RLY? Which markets was it designed for? I'm not stupid, but you didnt exactly offer an answer to this obvious question.

3)

 

[BlaRo]

2--> The Hummer H2 etc. is NOT designed solely for the America ... c'mon you're not that stupid .........

Are you serious?

It's based on a truck that isn't sold anywhere else in the world, the Chevy Tahoe, styled on a military truck that was developed for the US Army, the Humvee, and ended up to be massively big to fit on America's massively wide highways. It was imported to other countries afterwards because people there love pointless bling as much as we do. Give it a rest already.